


Maybe I Misjudged You

by black_listed



Series: Find Yourself [1]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-18 21:47:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28874082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/black_listed/pseuds/black_listed
Summary: People often judge one another from a quick glance, but people have layers. Upon encountering an old acquaintance, she begins to peel back some of his layers.
Relationships: Amy & Shadow
Series: Find Yourself [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2195262
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	1. Chance Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> There's currently a sequel to this story! If you like this work, there's more content available now. :)

The weather was nice today. Partly cloudy with zero chance of rain. It was a bit windy, but nothing a sweater couldn’t fix. Amy Rose, a pink peppy hedgehog, walked out of her petite house. The house, despite its small size, was just enough for one person to live comfortably. It was just big enough to host friends, and its exterior reflected its homeowner’s style. The roofing was a dark rustic brown color, and the walls were made from ivory-colored bricks—white fencing encased the property. The place was well kept, blessed by the work of a green thumb, where flowers and shrubs grew freely. When Amy wasn’t helping her friends save the world, or off on her own little adventures, she would go on walks, bake, and of course, spend time with her friends. Staying in and watching movies all day didn’t hurt either. Whenever she did go out, much like today, she would travel past a little park to reach the bus stop. She began her walk, approaching the park, and hummed, reflecting on the week’s events. 

* * *

Something peculiar had happened at the beginning of the week. One morning, as she made her way to the bus stop, she noticed that someone was sitting at one of the benches beside the fountain that stood in the middle of the park. While the park was a public one, it didn’t have playground equipment such as slides or swings. It was more of a place to walk around or jog, as she had done a handful of times with Sonic—well, the times she managed to convince him to spend time with her. He never really could hold still for long. When she took a second glance, she realized it was none other than Shadow himself. Puzzled, but not paying too much mind, she continued her day. However, the next day, there was once more, a black hedgehog at the park. This time he was sitting on the edge of the fountain, gazing into the water. She thought this was strange, especially since she had never seen Shadow around these parts of town. If anything, the few times that she had seen him, excluding their adventures, were in the city, and even then, it didn’t seem he went out much. Usually, Rouge and Omega accompanied him. Presumably because Rouge wanted to browse around the shops. Shadow didn’t strike the type to go off on his own simply to visit a little park. Let alone twice. That time, Amy decided to approach him. 

  


“Shadow?” Amy called out, as she got closer. The black hedgehog jumped slightly, disgruntled that he had been interrupted, and looked up from water.

“Yes?” He answered back. His unamused expression was more than enough to let anyone know that he wanted to be left alone.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to bother you,” Amy let out a small smile, “it’s just that I’ve never seen you here before. I saw you yesterday too.”

“And?” He blinked.

“Uh,” she looked away awkwardly, “I just wanted to say hello.” 

  
To this he said nothing and nodded a bit. His way of saying, _‘oh, well, thank you,’_ she thought. She excused herself, and as she walked away, she waved at him—to which he didn’t wave back. _Awkward. Very awkward._ The following day, he was at the park _again_. Now laying on the grass. Even more confused, Amy pondered if she should approach him at all. He didn’t seem too pleased with their previous interaction. Despite her better judgment, she walked towards him. Her curiosity was tingling, and she wanted to know what led this usually brooding hedgehog to spend the last few days out here. She was a few feet away when she realized that he was asleep. That day had been quite warm, so a nap outside in the sun wasn’t such a far-fetched idea. She had seen Sonic & Knuckles do this before, especially Sonic, although it was surprising to see this behavior from Shadow. _He is still hedgehog after all, so maybe I shouldn’t be too surprised_ , she thought.

Shadow’s ear twitched a bit, and he slowly opened his eyes. As he sat up, he let out a small gentle yawn, and his immediate expression was that of drowsiness. Amy blinked, and furrowed her brow in slight concern. Hopefully, she wasn’t the reason he had woken up. While she knew that he wouldn’t attack or yell at her, she didn’t want to upset him. He rubbed one eye, as the other slowly gazed at her.  


  


“Were you watching me sleep…?” he asked rather confused.

She froze briefly. She didn’t expect him to ask her that. Maybe _‘why the hell are you here?’_ or _‘what are you doing?’_ but not that. She let out a laugh. Her laughter brought him back to his senses. His expression completely bewildered. 

“No, no!” she exclaimed, “I was walking to the bus stop again, and happened to see you laying here. I didn’t know you were asleep; did I wake you?”

Seemingly, still under the spell of sleepiness, but more awake than before, he stood up. He was silent for a few seconds before he finally spoke.

“I was drifting between sleep and consciousness.” He said plainly. “I heard someone approaching, but I wasn’t fully asleep yet. Don’t worry.” His tone seemed less aggressive than yesterday, but the way he postured himself still made him seem distant. His arms were always crossed, and he wouldn’t look her in the eye as he spoke.

“If you don’t mind, can I ask what you’ve been doing?” she smiled at him. Again, he didn’t look at her. He appeared to be thinking, and he spoke carefully and quietly.

“I was given some time off. Rouge suggested that I spend the time elsewhere. Not ‘brooding around the base,’ or whatever.” He scratched the back of his head, almost out of embarrassment. “I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go. This place seemed pretty remote.”

Amy let out a small chuckle. What an innocent answer. Now it made sense. He was exploring the little things the park had to offer. Seeing that Shadow was always a little more reserved than most people, a park far enough from the city, with little to no visitors was the perfect place for him. 

“Ohhh, I see,” she beamed, “it seems like you’re enjoying yourself then.” He nodded and sat back down in the grass. Amy suddenly remembered that if she wanted to ride the bus, she had better hurry or else she’d miss the next stop. “Oh, no—the time, I have to go. I’ll leave you to it. See you around, Shadow!” She ran back to her continued path, and waved goodbye, this time Shadow lifted his hand and waved back. The next two days followed a similar routine, Amy, on her way to the bus, would stop by and chat with Shadow for a bit. He always seemed a bit drowsy when they spoke, so she knew that he been sleeping just beforehand.

* * *

_Today_ , she planned on inviting him to accompany her. Truth be told, she had never really interacted much with Shadow, and on top of that, she had only ever seen his aggressiveness or his dismissiveness towards people or the situation at hand. Admittedly, she felt a little ashamed that she had judged him to be such a cold person. Of course, she knew that wasn’t true, after all, he had saved the Earth for his departed friend, but outside of that relationship, she didn’t know anything else about him. Even when he was around Rouge or Omega, he purposefully distanced himself and didn’t say much. These last few days had been different though. When she would ask him questions, he would answer. He conversed with her, paid attention to what she said, even if he didn’t look directly at her. Additionally, his demeanor shifted from the one he bared the first day they spoke. He wasn’t as ‘moody,’ and while he spoke formally, it was almost what one could describe as ‘friendly.’ 

“Shadow!” Amy cheered, waving her arms around. Shadow looked up from a patch of flowers that we had been gazing at and turned around.

“Hey,” with his arms crossed, “back at it again?” he smiled ever so subtly. 

“That’s right. You’re not doing anything right now, are you?” 

“No, I’m not.” He shifted his body to face her. “Why?”

“Well, I’m heading to the city—oh, and I’m buying some ingredients to bake a pie later.” She looked around, “so,” she whispered, “would you like to join me?” Her expression was almost mischievous, to which Shadow found amusing. What’s so confidential about baking that she had to whisper? 

“I…” he hesitated. She made eye contact with him as she waited for his reply, and he quickly darted his eyes away. He cleared his throat and gave a meek answer. “I wouldn’t mind it. In the city, right?”

“Yeah.” She smiled wide, a little taken aback by the nature of his response. “If we go now, we won’t miss the bus.” She took his arm and gently pulled him away from the park and towards the direction of the bus stop. The pink hedgehog chattered away about what stores she’d like to visit if he had eaten or not, etc. A wave of nervousness flushed over Shadow’s body. While he was used to Rouge’s assertiveness, it was expressed in a different form compared to the girl tugging away at his arm. Amy was extremely outgoing, a little louder than he was used to, when she’s excited about something it was obvious. Her demeanor was not too different from Sonic’s, who was always persistent on racing him. Whenever they encountered one another, Sonic would always get a little too close for his liking. It wasn’t always annoying, especially since their interactions were usually brief. In this case, he didn’t find Amy annoying at all. She was quite thoughtful, and despite the way he spoke to her at the beginning of the week, she still talked to him. Still, this sudden invitation to spend time with her, that he was slightly regretting accepting now, was possibly a little too much. Not because of her, but because of him. 


	2. Are You Having Fun?

“The bus ride to the city was something Shadow had never experienced before. If he wanted to go somewhere all he had to do was run there. If he didn’t feel like running, he simply took his bike. If the situation deemed it necessary to travel a great distance, like to another country, a plane was in order—provided by G.U.N. of course. He had never traveled anywhere by public transportation, so admittedly, it was a bit uncomfortable. The bus wasn’t completely packed, but there were more people than he would’ve liked. Naturally, a bus that made trips to the city would have its fair share of passengers. His expression must’ve been one of disgust or discomfort because Amy took notice.

“Is everything alright?” Amy’s eyes glanced over at Shadow.

“Yes, it’s fine.” He let a small sigh, looking away from the strangers nearby.

“…You don’t have to come along if you don’t want to. It won’t hurt my feelings.” She smiled at Shadow.

“No, that’s not the issue.” He took a deep breath and sighed again. “Can I be honest with you?” This question piqued her interest.

“Of course, what’s on your mind?”

“Well, now that I’m going to say this out loud it sounds ridiculous, but...” he hesitated briefly, “I’ve never been on a bus before. It’s a little strange to me. It’s not structured, or professional. There aren’t soldiers or staff present.”

“Oh, you’re not used to how casual it is, right?”

“I think so.”

Amy looked up at the roof of the bus, thinking, and Shadow curiously waited for what she had to say.

“If you’re not with Rouge or Omega, you’re usually by yourself, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I get why she’d want you to get out of the base, but I can’t see her not wanting to spend time off with you. Is she busy?”

“They didn’t give her time off. Just me.”

Shadow’s neutral expression shifted to one of frustration. Amy, quickly realizing that she hit a nerve, changed the subject.

“Say, do you ever wear clothes? Besides shoes and gloves.” She lightly elbowed his arm and gave him a teasing expression.

He let out a small chuckle, and almost asked her ‘why don’t you ever take yours off?’ but quickly realized how that sounded. He had seen some Mobian girls not wear much at all, much like himself, but knew why many of them preferred clothing. He himself had worn clothes at some point, but that was a long time ago. Usually, it was just a jacket or a pajama. Things that Maria thought looked cute on him.

“I did at some point. I don’t really see the point in wearing them now.” He commented.

“Really?” she gasped a bit, “I don’t believe you.”

“Then why ask me?” He rolled his eyes and smirked a bit.

“Well, now I know where we’re going first!” The bus slowly came to a stop, and Amy got up from her seat. “Come on, we’re here.” She remarked. Shadow followed her out of the bus, and there they stood in the middle of the city. It wasn’t as impressive as some of the other places Shadow had seen, but it was decent. He was unfamiliar with this part of the city. He curiously looked around as Amy led him past shop after shop. He wondered where they were heading.

“Ta-da!” Amy exclaimed, gesturing towards a clothing store with mannequins in the window. ‘Oh, she wants to shop.’ He thought to himself. They entered the shop, and there was a couple of racks, stocked with discounted summer clothes, but most of the shop had fall and winter clothes lined up. Amy walked around, every now and then picking up a shirt or dress, seeing if it would suit her and then returning it back to where she found it. Shadow simply followed her, not really taking an interest in any of the clothes.

“I think this would look good on you.” Amy said, as she picked up a white cable knit sweater.

“Huh?” Shadow blinked. He looked at the sweater that the pink hedgehog held out to him. “I thought we came in here for you.”

“Well, that’s not as fun. You standing there, watching me pick out clothes for myself.” She scoffed. “I think white would look good on you. It’ll match with the white from your shoes.” Shadow reluctantly took the sweater from her hands. He looked at her, and took notice of her nudging look, that said, ‘go on, try it on.’

“I don’t know, Amy.” He had a nervous expression, “I don’t really wear clothes anymore. Don’t you think it will be kind of odd?”

She shook her head, and for a few moments looked him in the eyes, which only made him more visibly nervous. From early on in his life, he found it uncomfortable when people would look him in the eyes.

“…Okay.” He finally let out. He put on the sweater and noted to himself that it was a slightly baggy, the nature of this type of clothing. A lot of people prefer it that way.

“Aww! It looks great on you!” she cheered, “this hat matches, try it.” She picked up a white cable knit hat, with a fluffy pom pom at the top, and put it on Shadow.

“Oh,” Shadow let out, a little stunned at Amy’s bold maneuver, “how does it look?”

Amy smiled, and gestured towards a mirror.

“It looks good! It’s really cute.” She beamed.

Shadow scratched his cheek at her remark.

“Let’s look around more!” she exclaimed.

For the next little while, the two hedgehogs browsed the shop. They pointed out things that they thought the other would like, and to Amy’s disappointment, Shadow refused to try on the fishnet shirt they had on sale, no matter how much she begged and pleaded. He would never wear such a thing, especially not with Amy’s phone at the ready, presumably to take a ridiculous photo of him. When they stepped up to the cashier to pay for their items, it dawned on him that he was about to purchase a fair amount of clothing. I guess I’m going to start wearing clothes again, he thought. Bags in tow, they walked outside, and Amy stretched out her arms. It was windier now, and Shadow was thankful that Amy had insisted that he wear the sweater and hat after purchasing it.

“Are you hungry?” Amy patted her stomach, “I can feel my tummy rumbling.”

“A bit. Have a place in mind?”

“There’s a café just down the block.”

“Lead the way.”

* * *

At the café, the two sat in the corner at a small table. Shadow, unsure of what to order, let Amy decide for them both. Now sitting in front of him was a cup of tomato soup, accompanied by some French bread and a glass of lemonade. It smelled and looked delicious. Amy was already eating; she had ordered herself a small bowl of mac and cheese, a salad, and another glass of lemonade. Shadow took a spoonful of the soup, blowing on it to cool it down, and then put it in his mouth. Amy intently waited for his reaction, but he said nothing and kept eating. He was smiling a bit, and all his attention was directed towards his meal.

“Are you having fun?” Amy chimed in.

Shadow, spoon still in his mouth, looked at her. He was, but for some reason it felt somewhat embarrassing to admit so.

“Mmhm,” he let out, and looked away, “thank you for the invite.”

Satisfied with his answer, she continued to happily eat. There was a moment of silence before Shadow began to speak again.

“Do you do this often with Sonic?” he inquired.

“Sometimes, usually we’re with Knuckles & Tails. We like going as a group.”

“Oh, I see. That must be fun.” Shadow took a sip of his lemonade, when suddenly Amy stood up.

“Oh, my god, I don’t mean to give the wrong impression!” she exclaimed.

Bewildered by her sudden outburst, and slightly embarrassed that other patrons where looking at them, Shadow gave her an awkward smile. “What do you mean by that?”

“Uh, you weren’t thinking that I was trying to make this a date?”

Silence. Then a burst of laughter. In awe, Amy’s feelings of embarrassment almost faded away. Shadow’s laughter was, naturally, louder than his frequently used scoffs or chuckles, but even then, it was quiet. Soft. Gentle. He was laughing at her little blunder, but the way he laughed was comforting for lack of a better word. He wasn’t mocking her by any means. She had never seen him this expressive before. Any notable emotion he did express today was that of nervousness or discomfort—so to see this was quite surprising.

“What made you think that?” he asked, covering his mouth, clearly attempting to stop his laughter.

“You specifically mentioned Sonic, so I don’t know I just thought—” she sat back down in her seat. “but you weren’t thinking that all, aw man, now I’ve just embarrassed myself.”

Shadow cleared his throat, “don’t worry, I didn’t get the wrong idea. I was just curious is all.” He smiled.

“Well, I’m glad I got a laugh out of you,” she adjusted her posture, “say, I’m thinking of an apple pie. What do you think? Unless you have a request.”

“By any chance, can we make marionberry pie?”

Amy took notice of Shadow’s expression. He looked excited. He eyes shined ever so slightly, and he was leaning forward a bit, with his hands on the table. She laughed a bit; his expression was like that of a child.

“You know what—” she leaned back in her chair, “they just went out of season, but we might be able to find some. Of course, if you don’t mind frozen berries that is.”

“I’m okay with that. I’m not picky.”

“Perfect. Let’s go then!”

“Oh, that’s right. The pie.” He put his hand up to his chin and thought for a moment. “Actually, yes, I do have a request.”

Shadow let a wide smile grow across his face, today was turning out better than he expected. In all honestly, he was a bit resentful that Rouge had kicked him out, encouraged him to leave the base during the day. He wasn’t sure what he would do, or where he would go. Amy was an unexpected stroke of luck. It was pleasant to be around her, and he found that they got along easily. While insistent on certain things, she wasn’t pushy and was considerate enough to make sure he wasn’t too uncomfortable.

“Oh, I’ve never seen you smile like that before. You must really like marionberry pie.” Amy commented.

Ah. Shadow’s muzzle flushed a light pink color and he looked away. His excitement must be quite visible, he thought to himself, and he appeared to shrink away. Amy made a note to herself that her new friend had a hard time expressing himself, and when he did, it was better to not draw attention to it. Next time, she’ll pretend that he had always done that, so he doesn’t feel embarrassed. Even though, smiling isn’t something one should be ashamed of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!! Next chapter will be out soon. :)


	3. New Found Friendship

“Do I leave them on this rack?” Shadow asked as he took off his shoes.

Amy nodded as she took off her own and placed them on the shoe rack next to the door. This is something that she never imagined would happen. They were at her house now, with shopping and grocery bags in tow. 

“Can you set the other bags next to the couch?” she called out as she walked towards the kitchen, “I’m going to set everything up.”

Shadow looked around, admiring how well put everything was. After leaving the shopping bags in the living room, he walked to the kitchen and peered in. Amy had their groceries set up on the counter, along with kitchen supplies, such as measuring cups and, of course, a pie pan. He stood next to her.

“What do we do first?” He blinked. He’d never done anything like this before. 

“I know it looks like a lot, but it’s not complicated.” She smiled at him. 

Step by step, Amy explained how to make the pie. From the measurements, making the dough and filling—for the most part, she let Shadow do most of the work. Once everything was ready, they filled the pie and placed the curst on top. 

“It looks really amazing! You did a good job.” Amy picked up the pie, showing it off before placing it in the oven. 

“I think this would’ve resulted very differently if you hadn’t been here to guide me.” He let out a small chuckle.

“Well, it’s a good thing I was, huh?” She briefly stuck her tongue out. “Now we wait about an hour.”

“I hadn’t realized it took so long to bake.” Shadow remarked.

“It’ll be worth it!” Amy reassured him. 

Shadow took a seat at the counter and let out a small sigh. He seemed relaxed. Amy heated some water in a kettle and sat next to him. 

“You want something to drink? Tea? Coffee.” She gestured towards the kettle on the stove.

“Tea is alright.” 

* * *

Amy stopped for a moment, looking a Shadow, reflecting on everything up until this point. Shadow was a quiet person. Everyone knew that, but this was different. Most people, like Knuckles or Tails, had the impression that Shadow wasn’t a ‘people person.’ The few times where they brought him up, they expressed uneasiness, more so from Tails. Not to say that they thought badly of him, but he wasn’t really approachable. In many ways, he was a lot like Knuckles. The difference being that while Knuckles was rather reserved himself, Shadow was more formal and polite. Amy remembered something Rouge once said. _“Knuckles is more direct about how he feels. Shadow keeps his feelings to himself."_

“Amy, the kettle.” Shadow spoke. 

“Oh!” Amy got up, placing tea bags, and steaming water into two mugs. “Do you want any honey?”

“No, I’m fine,” Shadow smiled slightly as Amy handed him one of the mugs, “thank you.”

Amy continued her thoughts, what did she really think of Shadow now that she got know him better. Everyone had a different perspective, everyone saw Shadow in a different light. Knuckles thought he was full of himself, Tails was intimidated, and Sonic... 

Sonic wasn't sure what to think. _"Well, he's clearly a good guy, but what can I say? Maybe it's exhausting to be around us."_ Now she wondered if that was really it. 

“Is everything alright?” Shadow questioned.

“Huh?” Amy blinked.

“You were staring.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was just thinking. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” Amy rubbed the back of her head and laughed briefly. 

“It’s fine, no harm done,” he paused, staring at the kitchen floor “…what were you thinking about?”

“I was just thinking how I don’t really know you that well.”

Shadow stayed quiet and looked up at her.

“To be honest, for the longest time, I didn’t really know what to make of you. We never really spoke before. Which is a shame because it’s been fun hanging out with you.”

Shadow continued to say nothing, and let his gaze sink back to the floor. There were a few moments of silence. 

“…You’re alright,” he let out, “well, not just alright—” he sighed and mumbled to himself.

That’s right. He wasn’t just polite, but also rather shy at times. There were moments where it seemed like he couldn’t quite express his thoughts. She quickly realized that new situations were a source of anxiousness for him.

“Don’t worry, I know what you mean,” she patted his shoulder briefly, “we should do this more often.”

He relaxed once again and nodded.

“…I think I like baking.” He commented. 

“Pretty great right? We can make other things besides pies. We could bake cakes, or if you’re in the mood for something else, homemade pretzels are so good.”

* * *

The two hedgehogs sat together, drinking their tea, happily chatting along, until the pie finally turned a golden-brown color. An hour had finally passed, taking her oven mitts, Amy took out their berry creation and set it to cool on the stove. It had a very appetizing aroma, and it looked delicious. After it cooled, Amy served two slices onto a plate. She placed the plates along with two forks on the counter.

“It still might be a little hot, so be sure—” she warned, but it was too late. Shadow had already taken a bite. He waved his hand repeatedly.

"Hot, hot!" He let out.

She laughed, to which he briefly glared, which only made her laugh more. 

“It’s good.” He finally let out.

“How about temperature-wise?” she teased, “too cold?”

“Very. I think it was colder than a glacier.” He looked at her sarcastically. 

“You’re eating it pretty fast, you like marionberries that much?”

“They had some treats on the Ark, one of my favorites was these small, premade pies. The best flavor was marionberry—this is much better though.”

“Everything is better when it’s homemade, factory pies won’t be as tasty.”

“Clearly.”

Shadow’s plate was empty now. He sheepishly looked at the rest of the pie.

“Can I have another slice?”

“You’re the one that made it, why are you asking me?” Amy nudges his arm.

As Shadow served himself another slice, Amy smiled wide, she studied his face. Such a gentle smile.

“Hey, why don’t you stay over the night?”

“Huh?” Shadow ears perked up.

“We can watch movies till we pass out. Unless you want to go back to the base, which is fine.”

“Is… that alright?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t want to intrude.” 

Amy shook her head.

“It’s fine, I do this with friends all the time. Usually, I pass out before Sonic or Knuckles though.” She let out a chuckle. 

Shadow took a moment to think, and then smiled at Amy. 

“Sure.” He contently let out, before looking back at his slice.

Amy beamed. It was nice to see this side of him. To think that only a few days ago, he wouldn't even look her in the eyes. Before, those crimson eyes screamed "leave me alone," but now they're saying something different.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for the read!


End file.
